The Parables of Jesus

The parables of Jesus are short stories that the Lord Jesus used to teach the people and His disciples, so that they might understand the message of God and His Kingdom through comparative, symbolic, thought-provoking, and believable stories. These teachings can be found in the biblical gospels (the New Testament).

The term parable refers to a literary form built on an allegorical narrative; it is used to teach, by way of comparison, a subject that is not stated outright. A parable therefore has a didactic purpose – the very same purpose Jesus had in telling it to His disciples and to the crowds.

Through His parables, Jesus sought to teach the deepest spiritual truths in language that could reach every person. This simple style of teaching stood in stark contrast to the complex language used by the Jewish scholars of His day.

The Parables of Jesus

During His ministry here on earth, Jesus Christ conveyed the message of the Kingdom of God to the people and His disciples, in certain situations, through parables. The parables of Jesus are His teachings gathered into short stories that reveal a spiritual truth. These stories were crafted in a symbolic and comparative way, so that those who heard them might reflect and discover the true message contained within.

The comparisons Jesus made in His parables involved believable events or situations – most of them simple examples drawn from everyday life, so as to make them easier to understand. Jesus told these parables to His disciples and to the crowds that always followed Him, either to listen to Him or to benefit from His power.

Why Does Jesus Teach in Parables?

Yet the message Jesus conveyed in His parables was not understood by everyone who heard it. On one occasion the disciples asked the Teacher why He used this method of teaching, and He answered that His message would be understood only by those who believed in Him and in God, His Father (Matthew 13:9-17).

“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” – Matt 13:9-17

Those with a hardened heart, who did not accept God, would never understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God no matter how much they listened, and no matter how wide their eyes were open, they would never see it. These words of Jesus fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 30:9-14.

The explanation Jesus gave His disciples is essential for understanding this form of teaching. He makes it very clear that the mysteries of the Kingdom of God would be revealed only to believers, so that they could cultivate and grow in faith in Jesus Christ.

Where Can These Parables Be Found?

The parables of Jesus can be found in the gospels of the Bible. They appear in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, where many of these parables are repeated. The evangelist John, meanwhile, tells only two parables himself: the parable of the sheepfold and the good shepherd, in chapter 10, John 10:1-18; and the parable of the true vine in chapter 15, John 15:1-17.

Aside from John’s two parables, a total of 43 parables of Jesus can be found in the remaining three Gospels. Ten of Jesus’ parables are repeated across all three Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These 10 are the parables of:

• The Lamp: Matthew 5:13-16 – Mark 4:21-23 – Luke 8:16-18 – Luke 11:33-36
• New Wine and Old Wineskins: Matthew 9:16-17 – Mark 2:21-22 – Luke 5:36-39
• The Strong Man Bound: Matt 12:29-32 – Mark 3:27-29 – Luke 11:21-23
• Jesus’ True Family: Matt 12:48-50 – Mark 3:33-35 – Luke 8:20-21
• The Sower: Matthew 13:1-9 – Mark 4:1-9 – Luke 8:4-8
• The Mustard Seed: Matt 13:31-32, Mark 4:30-32, Luke 13:18-19
• The Little Child: Matt 18:1-10 – Mark 9:35-37 – Luke 9:46-48
• The Wicked Tenants: Matt 21:33-44 – Mark 12:1-11 – Luke 20:9-18
• The Fig Tree: Matthew 24:32-35 – Mark 13:28-31 – Luke 21:29-31
• The Watchful Servant: Matt 24:42-44 – Mark 13:34-37 – Luke 12:35-40

The Gospel of Matthew

Aside from the shared ones, the evangelist Matthew describes eleven parables of Jesus that can be found only in his Gospel. Here are the parables of:

• The Speck and the Log: Matthew 7:1-5
• The Wheat and the Tares: Matthew 13:24-30
• The Hidden Treasure: Matthew 13:44
• The Pearl of Great Price: Matthew 13:45-46
• The Net: Matthew 13:47-50
• The Householder: Matthew 13:51-52
• The Unforgiving Servant: Matt 18:23-35
• The Workers in the Vineyard: Matthew 20:1-16
• The Two Sons: Matthew 23:13-36
• The Ten Virgins: Matthew 25:1-13
• The Final Judgment: Matthew 25:31-46

The Gospel of Mark

Aside from the shared ones, the evangelist Mark describes one parable of Jesus that can be found only in his Gospel. This parable is: The Parable of the Growing Seed in Mark 4:26-29

“And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” – Mark 4:26-29

The Gospel of Luke

Aside from the shared ones, the evangelist Luke describes twelve parables of Jesus that can be found only in his Gospel. Here are the parables of:

• The Two Debtors: Luke 7:41-47
• The Good Samaritan: Luke 10:25-37
• The Friend at Midnight: Luke 11:5-10
• The Rich Fool: Luke 12:16-21
• The Barren Fig Tree: Luke 13:6-9
• The Parable of the Prodigal Son: Luke 15:11-32
• The Lost Coin: Luke 15:8-10
• The Shrewd Manager: Luke 16:1-8
• The Rich Man and Lazarus: Luke 16:19-31
• The Unworthy Servant: Luke 17:7-10
• The Unjust Judge and the Persistent Widow: Luke 18:1-8
• The Pharisee and the Tax Collector: Luke 18:9-14

Parables of Jesus Repeated in Matthew and Luke

Nine of the 43 parables of Jesus are repeated in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Mark does not include these nine in his Gospel. The nine parables are:

• Settling with Your Accuser: Matthew 5:21-26 – Luke 12:57-59
• The Birds: Matt 6:25-26 – Luke 12:22-26
• The Lilies: Matt 6:28-34 – Luke 12:27-31
• The House on the Rock: Matt 7:24-27 – Luke 6:47-49
• The Tree and Its Fruit: Matt 7:15-20 – Luke 6:43-45,
• The Leaven: Matthew 13:33 – Luke 13:20-21
• The Wedding Feast: Matt 22:1-14 – Luke 14:15-24
• The Lost Sheep: Matthew 18:12-14 – Luke 15:1-7
• The Talents, the Minas: Matt 25:14-30 – Luke 19:11-37 (LINK1, LINK2)

Besides the canonical biblical gospels, the parables of Jesus can also be found in those considered apocryphal, such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of James. Specifically, the Gospel of Thomas contains 17 such parables.

Themes That Connect Certain Parables

Within the gospels, some parables share a common message or theme that links them together. Some can be found in sequence one after another. Likewise, they may appear within a single Gospel or be repeated across one or several of them. Let’s look at some of these cases below:

• The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of the Leaven: The central, shared theme between both parables is the expansion of the Kingdom of God.
• The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price: The message contained in these two parables is the value the Kingdom of God should hold in our lives. God wants Jesus Christ to be our most treasured possession, our true treasure.
• The Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin, and the Parable of the Prodigal Son: This trio of parables from the Gospel of Luke carries a central theme of repentance as a fundamental act needed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus dwells in hearts that have shown sincere repentance.
• The Parable of the Faithful Servant and the Parable of the Ten Virgins: These two parables carry an eschatological thread, specifically concerning the last times and the second coming of the Lord. To that end, the Lord counsels us to stay watchful at all times, so as to be ready for His arrival.
• Four parables – the tares, the rich fool, the fig tree, and the parable of the barren fig tree: What links them is that all four deal with eschatological themes, each in its own distinct way.

Some central themes of independent parables include, for example:

• The Parable of the Unworthy Servant: faith and faithfulness to God
• The Good Samaritan: Love and Mercy
• The Parable of the Watchful Servant: Remain steadfast in faith and prayer.

Comparing the Four Gospels

The four Gospels are often compared to the four living creatures of the Apocalypse:

“And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” – Rev 4:6-8

This symbolism has its origin already in the book of Ezekiel, in the prophecy concerning the chariot of God. Amid a great wind and a fiery cloud, the prophet saw four living creatures, each of which had four faces and four wings. Each creature had the face of a man, a lion, an eagle, and an ox, all at once. “Every one went straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went,” writes Ezekiel (Ezek 1:12).

In Jewish culture these figures also described the four corners of the earth and symbolized its fullness through the constellations in the sky that marked out the way. Ancient Assyrian scholars were the first to describe them this way. According to pagan beliefs, these very four constellations (the bull, the lion, the eagle, and the water-bearer-man) marked the road to eternity – that is, they foretold the end of the old world and the beginning of the new. In the same way, the four Gospels lead all the nations of the earth to the knowledge of God.

Each of the evangelists approached the account of Jesus’ life in a different way. Thanks to these four Gospels, we have a complete picture of Jesus: Man, God, Savior, and Messiah. All of these symbolic creatures speak most fully of Jesus Christ Himself, which is confirmed by a text discovered on a marble block found near Lydia:

“As a man he suffered, as an ox he was slain for a sacrifice, as a lion he conquered, as an eagle he soared aloft”

Parables Spoken by Jesus

A complete list of all the parables spoken by Jesus: